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Advantages of a slider - tablesawtom - 06-29-2025

On my post of what kind of table saw do you have, the discussion kind of drifted toward how to use a slider and its many uses verses a table.  I will be specific, Dereck, Has a Hammer K3. As I under stand it things are done differently on a slider than regular table saw. From some of the pictures I did see some advantage on one over another.

I will be very interested in seeing what people have to say about the advantages of one over the other. For me the limiting decision is cost. Originally I thought footprint would also be an issue but maybe it isn't.

I look forward to the discussions.

Tom

RE: Advantages of a slider - jteneyck - 06-29-2025

Slider advantages:  
The workpiece is fully supported on the wagon, so there's no friction as it moves past the blade.  

The edge of the wagon table provides a ZCI on the left side of the blade.  This is the case on true sliders, but not with aftermarket add-ons that ride along the edge of the saw table.

You can straight line and rip up to the travel limit of the wagon.  This can save significant time compared to jointing an edge straight. 

Crosscuts and miters are inherently more accurate because it's done with the wagon fence; there's no sloppy miter slot to deal with or sled to build.   

Your hands are further away from the blade, provided you use clamps when needed.  In that regard, it's easy to clamp the workpiece on the wagon.  Provisions are either built into the wagon/fence, or shopbuilt add-ons provide the means to do so.  


Slider disadvantages:
Ripping using the rip fence is no better than with a traditional TS, might even be more difficult unless you move the wagon out of the way or remove it. 

If you want to process 4 x 8 sheets you need a slider with a wagon that can move more than 96".  That means it will require a space of at least 200" front to back, almost 17'.  That's really no different than how much room you need to rip sheet goods on a traditional TS, but the wagon is there taking up 8' of space all the time unless you remove it.  

There's more to go out of alignment on a slider.  I suspect small ones don't have many issues, but even a little deviation on a large one is going to quickly show up in cuts not being right.

The cost of sliders starts where higher end traditional TS's end and goes up quickly with increasing capacity and power.  That's not to be unexpected as there is more "stuff" involved in the design and manufacturing of them.  

John

RE: Advantages of a slider - BillN - 06-29-2025

I sold my Laguna TSS a few months ago because I'm too old to work in the shop. There are some workarounds for some of the disadvantages listed, check out some of the you tube videos by Fritz and Franz. If you have room and can find a smaller one, I recommend looking for a used slider.

RE: Advantages of a slider - Tapper - 06-29-2025

For those who've used both, can you get a straighter, cleaner edge when ripping with a slider than with a traditional table saw with a good fence, ZCI and featherboard? And if so, why?

Thanks,

Doug

RE: Advantages of a slider - jteneyck - 06-30-2025

Within 200 miles of me I saw several used sliders for sale today on FB Marketplace, all of them European.  A nice 10", 1 phase Casadei Italian machine about the size of Dereck's Hammer for $1100, down from the original asking price of $1500.  Another single-phase machine, this one a MiniMax SC3 with 10" blade and 3 hp motor for $1800 with a large wagon and scoring blade.  

[Image: 489374913_707225485223470_23881919847065...e=6868921B]

The wagon looks large enough that you could cut full sheets of plywood on it.  And that gives you a good idea of how much space it will take up in your shop.  

If you are comfortable buying used, sliders are available for a good price.  

John

RE: Advantages of a slider - fredhargis - 06-30-2025

I believe Richard McComus has both (I think he posted here as Alaska Guy), he had a Felder slider and a Delta 12/14. I wish he was still around, it would be interesting to see his comments about this.

RE: Advantages of a slider - BillN - 06-30-2025

(Yesterday, 10:49 PM)Tapper Wrote: For those who've used both, can you get a straighter, cleaner edge when ripping with a slider than with a traditional table saw with a good fence, ZCI and featherboard? And if so, why?

Thanks,

Doug

You can't get a cleaner edge than a scoring blade gives.

RE: Advantages of a slider - Derek Cohen - 06-30-2025

I've posted this before ...

[Image: 13.jpg]

[Image: 15.jpg]

In terms of footprint, my Hammer K3 is a "short stop", meaning it has a shorter wagon (1250mm). This long enough to process solid wood boards for medium-sized furniture. Very long boards would be ripped on the rip fence. Overall, the footprint of mine is less than a comparable table saw. Note that all table saws require space for in-and outfeed. If you regularly use full sheets, then you need to include this in your calculations. Of relevance, I do not build with ply or MDF.

Regards from Perth

Derek

RE: Advantages of a slider - jteneyck - 06-30-2025

When I looked at Hammer's specs for the K3 Winner the overall width is listed as 2400 mm (94.4") and the front to back length is 1250 mm (49.2").  If true, those dimensions are far greater than most cabinet saws.  Even with the wagon removed, the width still looks to be pretty large.  The dimensions of the smaller, Basic, are 72 x 37", still as large as a typical cabinet saw (with a big rip fence).  

John

RE: Advantages of a slider - mdhills - 06-30-2025

I found a video by BuiltFixed to be very helpful in understanding the dimensions of his setup (K3 winner):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB-0mms4PeM


Matt